July 23
Events *1632 - 300 colonists bound for New France depart Dieppe. *1793 - The Prussians conquer Mayence. *1829 - In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precurser to the typewriter. *1833 - Corner stones laid for construction of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio *1840 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union. *1862 - American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army. *1874 - Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa. *1881 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, was founded. *1903 - Ford Motor Company sold its first car. *1914 - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia allowing the Austrians to find out who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Serbia denies Austria-Hungary their demands World War I is sparked on July 28, 1914 *1926 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film. *1929 - Fascist government in Italy ban the use of foreign words. *1936 - In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties. *1940 - US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles`s declaration on the US non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. *1942 - The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened * 1942 - World War II: Hitler signed the Operation Edelweiss. *1945 - The process against Philippe Pétain begins. *1952 - Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community. * 1952 - General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser - the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt. *1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs. *1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded in Nicaragua. *1962 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal. * 1962 - The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed. *1967 - 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and ~1,400 buildings burned). *1968 - Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurred. During the shootout, a riot began that lasted for five days. * 1968 - The first and only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel. *1970 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur. *1972 - The United States launches Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite. *1982 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86. *1983 - Around 3,000 Tamils were slaughtered by Shinhalese Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka and some 400,000 Tamils fled to neighboring Tamil Nadu, India and a lot found refuge in Europe and Canada. This incident, known as Black July led directly to beginning of civil war in Sri Lanka. * 1983 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada flight 143 lands "dead-stick" in Gimli. *1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine. *1986 - In London, Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey. *1988 - General Ne Win, effective ruler of Myanmar since 1962 resigns after pro-democracy protests. *1992 - A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples. *1995 - Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and is visibly seen with a naked eye nearly a year later. *1997 - Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel. * 1997 - Spree killer Andrew Cunanan commits suicide in the upstairs bedroom aboard a Miami houseboat to avoid capture by the police *1999 - Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the death of his father. * 1999 - ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo. *2004 - Eleven years after its destruction, Stari most (the Old Bridge) in Mostar is reopened. *2005 - Three bombs hit the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people. Births * 645 - Yazid I, Sixth caliph of Islam (d. 683) *1301 - Duke Otto of Austria (d. 1339) *1339 - King Louis I of Naples (d. 1384) *1503 - Anna Jagello, Queen of the Romans (d. 1547) *1649 - Pope Clement XI (d. 1721) *1705 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (d. 1752) *1775 - Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812) *1777 - Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (d. 1810) *1796 - Franz Berwald, Swedish composer (d. 1868) *1823 - Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic priest and archbishop (d. 1894) *1838 - Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (d. 1910) *1856 - Lokmanya Tilak, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1920) *1865 - Max Heindel, Danish Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic (d. 1919) *1884 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950) *1886 - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish League of Nations official (d. 1978) * 1886 - Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (d. 1976) *1888 - Raymond Chandler, American-born author (d. 1959) *1892 - Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975) *1894 - Arthur Treacher, English character actor (d. 1975) *1895 - Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989) *1898 - Jacob Marschak, American economist (d. 1977) * 1898 - Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1987) *1899 - Gustav Heinemann, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1976) *1901 - Hank Worden, American actor and rodeo cowboy (d. 1992) *1906 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998) * 1906 - Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (d. 1931) *1912 - Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979) *1913 - Michael Foot, English politician *1918 - Bueno de Mesquita Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005) * 1918 - Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (d. 1999) *1921 - Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007) *1923 - Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (d. 1997) * 1923 - Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (d. 1958) * 1923 - Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer (d. 2001) *1924 - Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (d. 2005) *1927 - Gérard Brach, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2006) *1928 - Hubert Selby Jr., American author (d. 2004) *1931 - Te Atairangi Kaahu, Māori Queen (d. 2006) * 1931 - Guy Fournier, French Canadian author and screenwriter * 1931 - Claude Fournier, French Canadian film director and screenwriter *1933 - Bert Convy, American game show host and performer (d. 1991) *1935 - Hein Heinsen, Danish artist *1936 - Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Punjabi revolutionary (d. 1973) * 1936 - Don Drysdale, American baseball player (d. 1993) * 1936 - Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice *1938 - Juliet Anderson, American pornographic actress * 1938 - Ronny Cox, American actor * 1938 - Götz George, German actor * 1938 - Charles Harrelson, American convicted murderer; father of Woody Harrelson (d. 2007) * 1938 - Bert Newton, Australian actor and television show host *1940 - Don Imus, American talk radio host *1942 - Myra Hindley, English murderer (d. 2002) * 1942 - Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian politician *1943 - Dr. Randall Forsberg, American nuclear freeze advocate (d. 2007) * 1943 - Tony Joe White, American singer and songwriter *1947 - Gardner Dozois, American author * 1947 - David Essex, English singer *1948 - John Cushnahan, Northern Irish politician * 1948 - John Hall, American politician and former rock musician *1950 - Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American judge *1951 - Edie McClurg, American actress *1952 - Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player (d. 1995) *1953 - Graham Gooch, English cricketer *1957 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch film director (d. 2004) * 1957 - Nick Galis, Greek basketball player *1961 - Martin Gore, English musician and songwriter (Depeche Mode) * 1961 - Woody Harrelson, American actor * 1961 - André Ducharme, Quebec humorist (Rock et Belles Oreilles) and author *1962 - Eriq La Salle, American actor *1964 - Ed Forchion, American marijuana activist *1965 - Rob Dickinson, English musician * 1965 - Slash, English guitarist (ex-Guns N' Roses) *1967 - Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor *1968 - Nick Menza, American musician, drummer * 1968 - Gary Payton, American basketball player * 1968 - Stephanie Seymour, American supermodel *1970 - Charisma Carpenter, American actress * 1970 - Thea Dorn, German writer *1971 - Dalvin DeGrate, American singer * 1971 - Alison Krauss, American singer and fiddler * 1971 - Chris Michalek, American musician *1972 - Marlon Wayans, American actor *1973 - Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player * 1973 - Omar Epps, American actor * 1973 - Francis Healy, Scottish rock musician (Travis) * 1973 - Monica Lewinsky, American White House intern *1974 - Terry Glenn, American football player * 1974 - Maurice Greene, American athlete * 1974 - Stephanie March, American actress * 1974 - Sonny Siaki, Samoan-born professional wrestler * 1974 - Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist * 1974 - Kathryn Hahn, American actress *1975 - Seong Hyeon-ah, South Korean actress * 1975 - Surya Sivakumar, Tamil actor *1976 - Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player * 1976 - Jonathan Gallant, Canadian musician (Billy Talent) *1977 - Neicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer * 1977 - Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player *1978 - Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer * 1978 - Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer *1979 - Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver *1980 - Michelle Williams, American singer *1981 - Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41) *1983 - Andrew Eiden, American actor * 1983 - Bec Hewitt, Australian actress * 1983 - Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer *1984 - Brandon Roy, American professional basketball player *1985 - Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer *1989 - Daniel Radcliffe, English actor *1996 - Rachel G. Fox, American actress Deaths *1227 - Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist (b. 1148) *1373 - Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (b. 1303) *1403 - Thomas Percy, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343) *1531 - Louis de Brézé, Marshal of Normandy and husband of Diane de Poitiers *1584 - John Day, English printer (b. 1522) *1692 - Gilles Ménage, French scholar (b. 1613) *1727 - Simon Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain *1757 - Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1685) *1764 - Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (b. 1703) *1773 - George Edwards, English naturalist (b. 1693) *1781 - John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-born Continental Congressman (b. 1724) *1793 - Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1721) *1853 - Andries Pretorius, Boer leader (b. 1798) *1875 - Isaac Singer, American inventor and entrepreneur (b. 1811) *1878 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician (b. 1804) *1885 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822) *1916 - Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852) *1920 - Conrad Kohrs, German-born rancher (b. 1835) *1923 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1878) *1924 - Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar (b. 1850) *1930 - Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer (b. 1878) *1942 - Adam Czerniakow, Polish engineer (suicide) (b. 1880) *1948 - D. W. Griffith, American film director (b. 1875) *1951 - Henri Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856) * 1951 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884) *1955 - Cordell Hull, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871) *1966 - Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920) *1968 - Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875) *1971 - Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910) *1979 - Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (b. 1898) *1980 - Mollie Steimer, anarchist agitator and American political prisoner (b. 1897) * 1980 - Sarto Fournier, Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908) * 1980 - Keith Godchaux, American pianist (Grateful Dead) (b. 1948) *1982 - Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929) *1983 - Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899) *1985 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923) *1989 - Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931) *1993 - James R. Jordan, father of Michael Jordan (b. 1936) *1996 - Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greek actress (b. 1934) *1997 - Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1904) *1999 - King Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929) *2001 - Eudora Welty, American author (b. 1909) *2002 - Leo McKern, Australian actor (b. 1920) * 2002 - William Luther Pierce, American author and activist (b. 1933) * 2002 - Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929) *2003 - James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962) *2004 - Mehmood, Indian actor (b. 1932) * 2004 - Carlos Paredes, Portuguese musician and composer (b. 1925) * 2004 - Piero Piccioni, Italian musician, conductor and composer (b. 1921) * 2004 - Serge Reggiani, French singer and actor (b. 1922) *2005 - Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946) *2006 - Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1927) *2007 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (b. 1914) Holidays and observances *Egypt - Revolution Day (1952) *Roman Empire - Neptunalia held in honor of Neptune *Rastafari movement - Celebration of the birthday of Haile Selassie Roman Catholic *Saint Liborius, bishop of Le Mans, confessor Germany *Saint Bridget of Sweden, widow Mainz, Münster, Riga External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:July